Haiji
Haiji '''is the main protagonist of the Hungry Joker manga series written and illustrated by Tabata Yuuki. Haiji, a scientist known by peoples as the "Mysterious Genius Scientist Boy," studies the Glowing Corpses and the Black Apple. After eating the latter, which is one of the Eurekas, he gained the ability to control gravity. His current lab assistant is Chitose Toriiooji. History Haiji has no knowledge of his family, his birth place or even what his real name is; he adopted his current name because it seemed fitting. His earliest memory is that six years ago he called “attention” at an orphanage. Here, he saw numerous glowing corpses filed on top of one another and, lying next to them, is the black apple. As such, he believes that by studying these two things, he may be able to uncover his past. Appearance Haiji has a "cute" face. He has a messy aqua blue-green hair and neon green eyes. He wears a white lab coat on top navy blue t-shirt and short pants with black sandals. His most defining feature, though, is the surgical mask that is always on his face. When it is not covering his mouth, he often slides it down to his chin. The left side of his belt contains some research tubes. When he was a child, though, he only wore a regular t-shirt and a short pant. People often mistake Haiji for a kid due to his small frame. (Chitose's mother described him as "juvenile.") However, his exact age is still unknown. Personality Haiji is an extremely dedicated and knowledgeable scientist. His love for science causes him to ignore the outside world. Whenever he finds an object that piques his interests, he would often conduct experiment on it. However, his experiments often end up in a disaster, usually through a blast. As such, he always keeps a ballistic shield next to him for protection. Haiji rarely shows any emotions. He claims to be unable to understand basic human emotions such as devotion. However, others had commented that such statement is false. He does get excited when glowing corpses or the black apple is involved. Haiji is somewhat indifferent to danger. He believes that dangerous situations naturally accompany scientific advancements; as such scientists like him should not be afraid. For example, when the glowing corpse transformed to the monster James, he was calm and even excited. In comparison, Chitose was in an absolute panic. Haiji may be a scientific genius but when it comes to being human, he is below average. After the incident in the hospital, he tried to settle the scenario with the nurse by paying her. He also mistook the stuff toys in Chitose’s room as taxidermied animals. Also, Haiji didn’t know that asking a parent for their daughter’s hand meant asking permission to marry her. He simply thought it meant asking for help. Abilities '''Intelligence: Haiji is an extremely intelligent scientist who always conducts experiments, though most are failure ending in a large explosion. However, his main interest are the Black Apple and Glowing Corpses. He believes that the two things are not only related to one another (and even to God), but that by conducting research on them, his memory would be restored. He, with the unwilling Chitose, conducts experiments on the transforming mutants that had attacked them in the past. Curiously, Haiji often does not strategize when going to battle. However, he is prepared. For example, he switched the real Black Apple with a fake one. In the latter, he installed a bomb that detonated when Kildo stole it from him. Haiji’s apathy makes him an unpredictable opponent. As such, he would often emerge victorious in dire situations. Gravity Manipulation: After Haiji took a bite from the Black Apple, he gained the ability to control gravity. However, the length of this ability is proportional to how much of the apple he eats. He can control how this ability is applied. For example, he defeated the first transformed glowing corpse in Case 1 by applying gravity to a smaller surface, thus slashing it in half. He can also control objects around him. When empowered by the apple, he can handle heavy objects with ease. There is a weight limit on the objects that Haiji can handle using this ability. When he controlled the top of a skyscraper, he bled immediately. This ability also allows him to “fly.” His gravity manipulation is not limited to objects. It is also effective on humans, as seen when Haiji tested it on Chitose, albeit in a much more restricted manner. Physical Abilities: Not much is known about Haiji’s physical strength when not affected by the black apple. He is sturdy enough, though, to withstand the explosion of one of his failed experiments using a ballistic shield. Plot Introduction Arc Chitose informs Haiji that the police needs their assistance. At first, Haiji showed no interest. When Chitose finally reveals that the reason they were called is because of a mysterious glowing corpse, Haiji went to the place immediately. Upon seeing the corpse, Haiji decided to bring it to his lab for research. Before that, though, he called his mysterious benefactor to request a 10 million grant, of which he was easily granted. Back in the lab, Chitose chided him for performing autopsy on the glowing corpse without making a prayer to God. She asked his professor what kind of environment that he grew up on since the latter’s sense of normalcy is not, well, normal. She then realized that he knows next to nothing about his family. He told her that his earliest memory is from six years ago of an orphanage where scores of glowing corpses are lying on the ground and the black apple next to them. He then proceeded to explain the history behind the latter. While he and Chitose were discussing, Kildo, who was outside observing them, made the glowing corpse transform into a monster. Upon discovering the transformation, he remarked how fascinating such thing happened, and gave the monster the temporary name James. The monster proceeded to cause a major explosion inside the laboratory, causing the entire structure to collapse. It is then shown that he was impaled during the explosion. He instructed Chitose to toss him the apple. Even knowing almost nothing about the effects of eating the apple to his body, he took a gamble and took a bite. Instead of killing him, he gained the ability to manipulate gravity. He used this power to overpower James. After the incident, he was brought to the hospital. While there, one of the nurses reminded him to stop conducting scientific experiments while in the hospital. Haiji retorted that she should likewise stop coming to his room as he did not need her care. Upon hearing that the reason why she was so devoted to his well-being is because he reminded him of her younger brother, he claimed that he does know of such emotions. Later that night (Chitose was still there), the nurse came back. However, after offering to relieve him of the black apple, she transformed into a monster. When they arrived on the rooftop, the nurse monster snatched the black apple and gave it to Kildo. Haiji then noticed that the building next to the hospital had been cut in half and headed towards them, thus endangering not only him and Chitose but the other patients as well. When all hope seemed to have disappeared, it was revealed that he actually switched the real apple with a fake that had a remote bomb embedded in it. However, the bomb was not effective. After consuming one of his peas and gaining new powers, Kildo then remarked that he was no longer interested in him. The five minute limit was coming to an end. Kildo, who pinned him down to the floating building, remarked that while he was one of the Gods, he was a mere human. When it seemed liked Haiji was going to die, he managed to get away. It turns out that during the entire commotion, he was slowly moving the floating building towards the sea. He then showed up behind Kildo and gave him a hard punch to the face. Later, he was seen standing with Chitose next to the unconscious nurse (he punched earlier her on the stomach, thus forcing her to regurgitate Kildo’s peas). When the nurse regained consciousness, he thanked her for taking care of him. White Joker Arc References Category:Male Category:Characters